Automation Answers

Why Is My Automation Using the Wrong Time Zone?

Automations use the wrong time zone when account, workflow, app, and server defaults differ, timestamps have no offset, or a value is converted twice.

By Automation Ace Editorial Team · Reviewed for technical accuracy by Troy Tessalone · Published · Updated

Short answer

Why Is My Automation Using the Wrong Time Zone?

Times shift when each layer assumes a different time zone. The source app, the automation account, the workflow, and the destination app can each have their own default, and servers often run in UTC. Pick one time zone for your business logic, set it explicitly in the workflow, keep timestamps in ISO 8601 with an offset, and convert only once, right before display.

Common causes

  • The Zapier account or Zap time zone setting, or the Make organization and profile settings, differ from the business's local time zone.
  • A timestamp like 2026-10-17 09:00 has no offset, so each tool guesses its own.
  • A Formatter step, formula, or code step converts a value that the source app had already converted.
  • Schedules, cron triggers, and serverless functions run in UTC by default.
  • A daylight saving time change moved fixed UTC schedules by an hour.

Diagnostic steps

  1. Compare the raw trigger value in the run history with what the source app shows, and note whether it has an offset or a Z.
  2. Check the time zone setting at every layer: account, workflow, each app, and the person viewing the result.
  3. Find every step that changes the value and remove extra conversions, so only one step converts.
  4. Store and pass values in UTC ISO 8601, then format to local time with an explicit time zone such as America/Los_Angeles at the last step.
  5. Test with a time near midnight and a date near a daylight saving change.

Example

A Zap posts a 9:00 a.m. Pacific meeting to Slack as 4:00 p.m. The calendar trigger sends UTC, and a Formatter step formats it without setting a time zone. Setting the Formatter's time zone to Pacific fixes the message.

Caveats

Date-only fields have no time at all, so converting them can shift the day. See the off-by-one-day answer. When people work in different regions, store UTC and show each person their own local time.